Argo; How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled off the Most Audacious Rescue in History

viii, [2], 310 pages. Includes Acknowledgments, Notes, and Bibliography Inscribed on the title page. Inscription reads: Best to Carl! Antonio J. Mendez. Antonio Joseph Mendez (November 15, 1940 - January 19, 2019) was an American technical operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations. He wrote three memoirs about his CIA experiences. Mendez was decorated, and is now widely known, for his on-the-scene management of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran hostage crisis. He exfiltrated six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980 by arranging to have them pose as a Canadian film crew. As part of their cover, the diplomats carried passports issued by the Canadian government to document them as Canadian citizens. After declassification of records, the full details of the operation were reported in a 2007 article by Joshuah Bearman in Wired magazine. This was loosely adapted for the screenplay and development of the 2012 Academy Award-winning film Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, who also starred as Mendez. Mendez attended the 70th Golden Globe Awards to give a speech about the film, where it was nominated for (and later won) Best Motion Picture - Drama. In this book, Antonio Mendez finally details the extraordinarily complex and dangerous operation he led in 1979 to rescue six Americans held hostage in Iran. Using commercial cover, He entered Iran with false identities for the six and, using techniques that ought to remain secret so they can be used again, managed to get them out of Iran. Derived from a Kirkus review: A real-life tale of intrigue and deception from a former CIA agent. When the U.S. embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979, a small group of American employees escaped from an outlying building and took to the streets in an attempt to evade capture. Mendez was the CIA man who got them out of the country without being discovered. With the assistance of Baglio, he tells the story of the exfiltration from beginning to end. Though no one knew about the escapees in the immediate aftermath of the hostage crisis, Mendez was actively involved in drafting a plan to free the hostages. He gives an overview of the situation from the moment students entered the embassy grounds. With plenty of background information on how the CIA practices its deception, Mendez leaves no guesswork for readers. The difficulty of operations in hostile territory is clear, as is the work that goes into disguises. The writing is fresh and engaging. The Hollywood portions of the book are peppered with recognizable names and unexpected spycraft, but they are a smaller part of the narrative. While the eventual ending is no surprise, the journey is always enjoyable. A solid choice for fans of thrillers and international intrigue.…